Oppose AB 1609

I stand with CAL-FFL and Firearms Policy Coalition in my OPPOSITION to AB 1609, a redundant, duplicative, and unnecessary measure pertaining to the importation of firearms into California.

Recent amendments have added a new fee, payable to DOJ, should a resident take possession of a firearm through inheritance— nothing less than a “bereavement tax” for the transfer of property and heirlooms.

Assemblymember Alejo’s measure would require that dual residents of California and another U.S. state would need to transfer firearms that they already legally own and possess at their out-of-state residence to themselves through a California dealer, relinquishing possession of the firearm during the ten-day waiting period and DROS process. Under AB 1609, this process would occur every single time a dual-resident’s firearm came with them into California.

AB 1609 fails to provide for existing exemptions for certain loans. Currently, firearms can be loaned for up to 30 days. (See, e.g., Cal. Penal Code § 27880.) This bill will prevent the loan of firearms for sporting purposes in California unless the firearm is transferred through a dealer and subject to the ten-day waiting period and DROS transfer requirements. Ultimately, AB 1609 creates yet another prosecutorial avenue to entangle otherwise law-abiding gun owners, adding to the long list of felonies within the labyrinth of state firearms laws.